


Bechloe Week 2020

by 22_Ti



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Airplanes, Bechloe Week 2020, Bite, Broken Limbs, Bunnies, Chicks, Colt - Freeform, Coma, Ducklings - Freeform, Easter, Engagement, F/F, Fake Dating, Fear, Friends With Benefits, Green-Eyed Monster, Jealous, Plane Crash, Rescue, Secrets, Sweet Tea, Truth, Wedding, bit - Freeform, bridesmaids - Freeform, chomp - Freeform, crush injuries, drunk text, georgia barbeque, gratuitous sex, head injuries, other woman, ring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:00:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25519183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/22_Ti/pseuds/22_Ti
Summary: This story was written for Bechloe Week 2020, and the chapters are connected in sequence of the prompts provided.
Relationships: Chloe Beale & Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell
Comments: 74
Kudos: 165





	1. Graduation Gifts or Friends with Benefits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe finally graduates university and guess what she wants as a present?

When Beca graduated from Barden University, she felt such a sense of accomplishment. She was the first in her family to obtain her college diploma, not counting her father, who had his doctorate, of course. But she still hadn’t forgiven him for leaving her mother when Beca was growing up so still didn’t consider him family. Maybe it was more fair to say the first on her mother’s side of the family to graduate.

More importantly, Chloe had finally graduated. As each year passed with Chloe failing that one critical class required for her graduation, chances looked slim for her ever to earn a diploma. However, Beca’s hopes were piqued as Chloe applied for graduation at the same time as she did, bought her cap, and gown, and even sent out announcements.

The morning after the graduation ceremony, Beca woke up with a pounding headache. She rolled over, flopping her arm over her face to block out the offending sun. She couldn’t quite get comfortable due to space in her small bed being taken up by a familiar red-headed human. She loudly whined, pulled her knees towards her chest, and tried to shove Chloe out of bed with her feet.

“Stoooooooooooop,” Chloe wailed. “You are so mean. This is _my_ graduation present.”

“No. Your _graduation present_ was last night. Now you are just annoying. I need my space.”

Chloe hooked her hands beneath Beca’s armpits and pulled her close. Nuzzling her nose into Beca’s neck, she began to lightly suck on one of the places she knew drove Beca wild. “Not annoying. I just want more gifts.” She hooked her leg around Beca’s so that the brunette would have a harder time escaping.

“Ugh! I should have never agreed to this.” When Chloe had applied for graduation, Beca teased her about not being able actually to finish her coursework and walk the stage. Chloe threw down the gauntlet and challenged her friend to a bet.

“If _I_ walk across that stage with you and the other girls, I get a night of non-drunken, unbridled passion.” Usually, when the friends hooked up, they were intoxicated or working off some type of frustration. Apparently, Chloe wanted to experience Beca without the additives.

Beca rolled her eyes as she responded. “And if you don’t, what do I get?”

“Ummmm, a full body massage!” Chloe announced as she wiggled her eyebrows.

“Somehow, I think you win in either case,” Beca scoffed. “Regardless, if this is what it takes for you to graduate after seven years, then I’m game.”

All in all, Beca wasn’t going to admit that the night of sober, non-frustrated sex was nice. Chloe was her absolute best friend which said a lot since Beca didn’t exactly call many people ‘ friends’.

* * *

The first time Beca woke up next to Chloe after mistakenly getting into a drinking contest with Fat Amy and some other Bellas, Beca was horrified. She snuck out of bed and hid in her attic bedroom, refusing to come out until the next Monday after Chloe had gone to class. Later, when Chloe got home, the redhead wasn’t acting any differently towards Beca. They slipped back into their routine with no mention of the drunken roll in the hay.

The next Friday, Beca came home from her internship at Residual Heat and launched her messenger bag across the room. The Bellas who were sitting around the living room were stunned into silence. They knew Beca tended to be grumpy at times, but they had never seen her get mad, not like this. The co-captain didn’t say anything to anyone and stomped up to her room.

After a bit of time, Chloe went up and quietly tested the door to see if Beca had locked herself in, which would have let Chloe know whether or not Beca was okay with her entering. The door opened, and Chloe stepped in, quietly closing the door behind her. “Becs,” she whispered. “Are you alright?”

Beca turned around to face Chloe and finished wiping the frustration tears from her face. She dropped the damp washrag she was using and slowly walked towards the redhead. She came chest to chest with Chloe and continued to back her up, all the way to the door. Chloe bit her lower lip, not sure what to do. Beca reached behind Chloe and locked the door, then slid her hands up Chloe’s sides and buried them in her hair. She tilted her forehead against Chloe’s and kissed Chloe. Hard. With no hesitation, she ravished her friend’s mouth.

She pressed her body full against Chloe’s and ran her lips down the redhead’s jawbone to her neck. As she began to suck on the side of Chloe’s neck, Chloe pulled back. “Hmmm, not where anyone can see,” she murmured. Beca ran her hands down Chloe’s sides and up under her shirt, stripping off her top and dropping it to the ground before unclasping her bra. Beca moved her head down to capture one of Chloe’s breasts in her mouth. Chloe pulled Beca back up and began to walk them backward towards Beca’s bed, each of them losing pieces of clothing as they went before falling into bed fully naked.

* * *

Chloe lay on her back with her arm wrapped around Beca, who curled up on Chloe’s chest. She brushed her fingers through Beca’s hair as they caught their breath. “You okay, Becs?” Beca nodded her head. “May I ask what that was about? Not that I’m complaining, mind you.”

Beca immediately tensed and rolled to her back, giving a huge sigh. “Sammy! He’s so rude.”

“Beca, you’ve always told me what a jerk he is.”

“But he’s so damned successful. It’s infuriating, is all.” Chloe stayed quiet and let Beca talk. “I solved a problem with a famous client of his. He rewarded me by listening to some of my work.”

“That’s a good thing, babe.”

“No. It’s not. Sammy told me my work wasn’t original and to come back when I could produce something original, not one of my mash-ups. I mean, I get his point. It’s just that mash-ups are my thing. Just pissed me off to hear it. And I was frustrated. So I took my frustration out on you.”

Chloe kissed her tiny friend on the top of her head. “That’s okay, Becs. You can take your frustration out of me anytime.”

And that’s how the best friends with benefits arrangements started.

* * *

After graduation, the two friends went their separate ways. Beca moved to work in a branch of the Residual Heat studio in Los Angeles, while Chloe enrolled in the veterinary program at the University of Georgia in Athens, about an hour outside of Atlanta. While Beca had a fairly non-taxing work schedule as a junior producer, Chloe’s classes and work schedule gave her very little free time for herself.

“Beca, you should see all the animals here. I’m in heaven!” Chloe’s rotation right now was at the university’s farm. She was getting exposure to all sorts of farm animals, both large and small.

The brunette grinned at her friend through the phone’s camera. “Are you thinking about changing your emphasis from small animals like dogs and cats?”

“I still have to go through all my rotations before I declare a specialty, but I think I like this environment a lot. I could live in the country, even.”

The friends talked a bit longer, and then Beca snapped her fingers. “Oh, I almost forgot.” She had a teasing sparkle in her eyes. “What’s your schedule like next week?” She already knew Chloe’s schedule, Beca just liked teasing her for the reaction.

Chloe started clapping her hands. “Beca! Quit teasing. You know that’s my Spring Break. No classes, and all I have to do is take care of the animals here.”

“So I take it you might have some time for an old friend?”

“Yes!” Chloe shrieked. “I can’t wait to see you, Beca. I’ve missed you.”

* * *

What will happen when Beca visits Chloe in Athens for Spring Break? Will their arrangement continue, or will they go back to just friends?


	2. Evil F**king Colt or He Bit Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca visits Chloe, who is doing rotations at the university farm for her vet program. Ruger, a newborn colt, takes advantage of the new person to get in a few nibbles.

The junior producer despised packing with a passion, and this was Beca’s first trip longer than a weekend since she and Chloe graduated. During the last four years before commencement, whenever the friends would go somewhere – alone or with the Bellas - Chloe always packed for her. Beca decided that packing herself was just another step in her adulting. Surely she could at least get the essentials in her bag.

Her early morning flight was two legs with about an hour layover in Atlanta. The Atlanta airport was huge, and Beca barely had time to change terminals and make it to her gate before the next flight boarded. Beca had presumed an hour was long enough for her to grab a quick bite to eat before heading to Athens. She’d left Los Angeles before the crack of dawn and had barely managed to get coffee.

But Beca didn’t have time to eat since it took her so long to get between the terminals. The long flight time, coupled with the four hour time difference meant the junior producer would be ravenous by the time Chloe picked her up. Hopefully, her friend would be hungry, and they could go for food directly from the airport.

* * *

After landing in Athens and making her way to baggage claim, Chloe about knocked Beca over with one of her traditional full-body hugs. She fast-kissed Beca all over her face before announcing how much she’d missed her friend. Beca slung her arm over Chloe’s shoulder and dragged her to the carousel that would bring her bag. “Nerd,” Beca smirked while secretly loving that Chloe was being so affectionate.

“I have today and the rest of tomorrow completely clear,” Chloe announced. “Then I have to do some animal care rotations out at the farm. I’m so excited you are here,” Chloe squealed. “What do you want to do?”

“Eat!” Beca laughed as she explained that she didn’t have enough time to get food during her brief layover. “Cue stomach grumbling.” She pointed to her stomach that had started gurgling. She grabbed her bag as it came down the chute, and the pair headed to Chloe’s car.

Chloe hooked her arm in Beca’s elbow and pulled her close as they walked. “Anything, in particular, you are in the mood for?”

“Oh my gawd. Do you have to ask? There are two things I want to eat while I’m here – some good, old-fashion southern fried chicken and Georgia barbecue. Los Angeles has nothing to compare to either of those.”

Chloe claimed she knew just where to go and headed that direction.

* * *

When the car pulled into the hole in the wall joint, Beca opened her door and took a deep whiff of the smoke lingering in the air. “Ahhhh, yes, nothing like the smell of sweet Georgia barbecue. The best part about this is that we’ll both smell like smoke the rest of the day.” At the counter inside, Beca ordered a chopped barbecue pork sandwich dressed in a red tomato-based sauce with sides of baked beans and beer-battered onion rings. To drink, she got a massive sweet iced tea. After taking her first bite of the sandwich, she groaned with satisfaction and happily pointed to her food. “Ahhh, this for me, is the quintessential Georgia barbecue meal.”

After lunch, Chloe headed to her apartment to drop off Beca’s bag. “I guess I should ask if you’re tired. Do you need to take a nap or something? I know you’ve been up a long time.” Beca said she was okay.

“I know you don’t have to work until the day after tomorrow, but you know what I’d really like to see?”

Chloe suggestively wiggled her eyebrows. “My bedroom?”

Beca rolled her eyes and responded, “no weirdo, the university farm. You’re always talking about it.”

The friends changed into jeans and t-shirts. Chloe pulled on a pair of rubber boots and told Beca they could probably find her some at the farm. “Are you sure you don’t want to see my bedroom?” She grabbed Beca’s hand and pulled her towards her for a kiss. “When I say I miss you, I mean _I miss you._ ”

“Keep it in your pants, Beale.”

* * *

Once they arrived at the farm, Chloe gave Beca the grand tour, including the classrooms and various treatment rooms. They then went out to visit the animals. There were two small paddocks, one with a mare which had recently foaled and the other with a pregnant mare. Chloe filled her pocket with some large alfalfa pellets and took Beca into the paddock with the pregnant horse.

“This is Little Star. She’s due any day now. Her last pregnancy gave her problems, so her owner brought her here. The students can monitor her and keep a closer eye on her.” She handed Beca two of the alfalfa chunks and showed her how to hold them in her open palm to feed Little Star. Beca was cautious but successfully fed the mare the treats.

Next, Chloe encouraged Beca into the other paddock with the new mama and her foal. “This is Elle. And that rootin’, tootin’ feller is Ruger. He’s two days old.”

Beca took a step backward. “Two days? Ummm, is it safe to be in here? Won’t his mom get protective?”

“Nope. Elle is a good mama, and Ruger loves attention. Just rub all over his neck and back. The more physical attention he gets this young, the easier he adapts to training.” Chloe turned her attention to Elle, leaving Beca to shower affection on the colt.

As Chloe was petting and talking to the mare, both she and Elle flinched when Beca shouted, “ **he bit me**! The little fucker bit me.” Beca gave up trying to pet the baby and walked over to Chloe and Ruger’s mom. She pointed her finger at Elle. “Your son is an evil colt.”

“Goodness gracias, Beca. Ruger is _not_ evil. He’s a baby and just exploring with his mouth. He’s curious is all.” Chloe was laughing at her friend as she went over to Ruger and began to sweet-talking. “Ooooh, my cute little Ruger. Beca is my friend. You know you aren’t supposed to bite people.”

“How is he supposed to know that? He’s two days old.” Beca was sarcastic as she rubbed her sore forearm where Ruger had latched on.

“No!” Chloe’s voice was sharp. Beca turned to see Chloe holding Ruger’s mouth shut. “No bite.”

“Well, at least he is an equal opportunity biter,” Beca chuckled

* * *

“Do you want to pick up some bird to take home?”

“Chloe? Seriously? No. Good fried chicken must be consumed in the restaurant. You know that. Besides, I don’t want both my favorite meals on my first day. Let’s save the chicken for another time.”

Back at Chloe’s place, the friends shared a pizza and some beer for old time's sake. The two caught up on each other’s lives since graduation. While they regularly talked while separated, nothing was like being in person.

“What kind of projects are you working on at Residual Heat? Did Sammy give you a decent recommendation so they’ll let you do more than you did during your internship?”

“I’ve graduated from the coffee girl if that’s what you mean,” Beca chuckled. “One of my main jobs is screening music samples hopeful artists send in. I’d guess that for every hundred samples I listen to, three pass the basic checks and get passed along.”

Chloe nodded. “Are you… seeing anyone?”

Blushing, Beca ducked her chin down and shook her head. “Nope. You?” Chloe shook her head and scooted closer to Beca.

“Good.” Chloe wet her lips with her tongue. “Then you won’t have a problem with me doing this.” She pressed her lips against Beca’s and melted into the familiarity of the woman’s touch.

* * *

The next morning, the friends woke up about the same time. Chloe smiled softly at Beca. “Hi.”

Beca reached up and pushed Chloe’s hair behind her ears. “Hi, yourself.”

“I told you I missed you.”

“And here I thought it was me you missed, not the sex.”

Chloe rolled over on top of Beca. “I did. I do miss you.” She kissed her friend. “Hush.”

“I’ll hush if you feed me.”

“Deal.”

The friends got up, showered, and headed to Chloe’s favorite diner for breakfast. Afterward, Chloe drove them around to show Beca the limited sights of Athens. Of course, Athens was a smaller town without a lot to see. But Beca wasn’t here for Athens; she was here for Chloe. Beca knew veterinary classes kept Chloe busy as well as the redhead’s specialty rotations. While she was relatively new at the studio in L.A., she had more flexibility to travel and visit her best friend.

* * *

Beca joined Chloe when she went to do her feeing rotations at the farm. Chloe spent a lot of time with Little Star, checking and double-checking her foal in utero. She also made the rounds to all the animals at the farm, both university-owned animals and those brought in by community members. Beca had decided to give Ruger another shot and showered attention and praise over the young colt.

Chloe was examining a gelding who had come in lame. She had his foot propped up and was using a hoof pick to clean out the pad area so she could better determine what was going on with the big boy. She heard Beca shout out. “Mother fucker! **He bit me! Again!** ”


	3. Acre Yzou My Fricend or Fwend Witoh Benepits or Drunk Texts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe gets wasted and let’s loose with a barrage to texts to her best friend. Does her inner truth come out?

Chloe had a few class projects she needed to complete, so Beca did not stay in Athens for all Spring Break. As she flew back to Los Angeles, Beca thought about her relationship with Chloe and how they had picked up exactly where they left off at Barden bedroom wise. Beca didn’t have a problem with having sex with her friend but wondered if their arrangement was keeping Chloe from moving on with her life. Then she recalled how little spare time Chloe had right now and put the troubling thoughts out of her mind.

The Saturday after Beca returned home was the last full free day Chloe had before classes picked up on Monday. She’d finished her assignments and decided to celebrate although she admitted to herself that she’d have a lot more fun if Beca were still there. She decided that since Beca wasn’t there, she’d go out with some classmates.

Beca worked a vital project over the weekend, which was rare as a junior-level producer. She wasn’t quite important enough to stay at work all hours of the night and had hoped to use the day to recover from the three-hour time difference in Georgia. Yet she knew if she wanted ever to be more than a junior producer, working whenever asked was paramount. When the tiny brunette made it home, she consumed a bowl of soup then fell into bed.

* * *

Sunday morning came bright and early in Augusta. Chloe’s head was throbbing, and she felt like there was an ice pick stuck in her eye. She moaned as she turned over in her bed but quickly froze when she realized she wasn’t wearing clothes. “Fuck,” Chloe thought, “what did I do last night?” She didn’t see signs anyone else had been in her apartment, but that wasn’t assurance that someone hadn’t been.

Chloe reached for her phone to check the time and found that it was completely dead. “Crap,” she hissed. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, Chloe reached for ibuprofen and water. After scarfing a few pills down to ease the pounding in her skull, Chloe shuffled over to her dresser and plugged in her phone to start charging. She made some toast and drank a few more bottles of water to stave off the dehydration.

By the time she’d wolfed down some plain toast, Chloe’s phone had charged enough to power on. She left it to do its thing and continue to charge while she took a shower. As she was drying off, she heard a text message come across her phone. She wrapped her towel around her hair and went to get dressed. Looking at the lock screen, she saw the new text was from Beca.

_[To Chloe: Call me when you get this]_

“That’s odd,” she muttered to herself. Beca’s texts were usually longer than that. Or at least she would send more than one. Chloe continued to get dressed while her phone kept charging. Finally, she disconnected the cord so she could take her phone to the couch. Chloe unlocked her phone and opened up her messaging app. As she read what was there, she was aghast.

_[To Beca: Headed out to celebrate my project completion]  
[To Chloe: Be careful. Make good choices!]_

A few hours later, Chloe seemed to be enjoying her celebration.

_[To Beca: are you smy frienfd?]_

Chloe groaned and quickly checked her phone log. “Whew! At least I limited myself to drunk texts and not drunk calls,” she mumbled.

_[To Chloe: Yes, I’m your friend, Chloe]  
[To Beca: i lsove you, bca]  
[To Beca: BECW! isn't that hmow jwesse sayfs ipt?]  
  
_

_[To Chloe: Chloe, you’re drunk. Go home.]  
_ _[To Chloe: You aren’t driving, are you?]  
  
_

_[To Beca: no, i'm with rwuger]  
[To: Beca: he doeysn't btie me!]  
[To Chloe: Seriously. Go home.]  
  
_

_[To Beca: hi lub u, beca]  
[To Beca: are u willy smy frienfd?]  
[To Chloe: Ugh. Yes, I’m your friend. I love you, too.]  
[To Beca: acre yzou just my fricend or fwend witoh benepits?]  
[To Beca: i wish you ewrpe here. li neead scome benefzits.]_

Chloe groaned as she tossed her phone on the coffee table as her mind began to churn for ways to get out of this one. She’d never done this before, at least not with Beca.

“I need some benefits? Good going, Beale. You are such a loser.” Reluctantly she picked the phone back up and called Beca to face the music.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> #sorrynotsorry for being so short. Drunks aren't exactly known for their stamina!


	4. Chicks, Ducklings, and Bunnies, oh my! or Baby Farm Animals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca surprises Chloe with another visit on Easter Weekend. Chloe is on call at the farm and does a late-night rescue of animals from a carnival. Beca wants a baby. Bad!

Along with Easter came another long weekend that Beca had free. In the few short weeks between Spring Break and Easter, neither of them had brought up Chloe’s drunk texts. Much like they avoided the whole FWB situation while at Barden, the pair didn’t address the proverbial elephant in the room. Beca enjoyed the arrangement the friends had and feared if they had a conversation about it, the situation might somehow go away.

Beca decided to surprise Chloe for Easter. While she’d never admitted it, she missed the snuggles. Maybe her best friend was what she missed, perhaps the benefits. Regardless of the reason, she knew Chloe would appreciate the visit.

As she got off the plane with her carry-on, her phone began to buzz in her pocket. She fished it out and saw Chloe’s name on caller-ID. She thought about answering but knew that the airport noises might clue her friend to where she was. With a quick click, Beca sent to call to voicemail then ordered an Uber to take her out to the veterinarian university farm where Chloe was working that day.

As she dropped her bag off in the office, she learned her friend was doing exams on some cattle. The cows were housed in the same area as the other large mammals, in particular adjacent to the horses. Beca could hear Chloe cooing to the cattle around the corner.

She let herself into the paddock with Elle and Ruger. “Hey, little feller. Remember me?” Beca rubbed the foal’s back and down his legs. “You’ve gotten bigger since I last saw you. No biting now!” The colt leaned all his weight on her, nearly toppling her over. Beca could hear Chloe finishing up with the cattle, so she gave Ruger a few final pats and let herself out of the paddock.

Beca moved back into the barn area and watched as Chloe cleaned up her space, packing her supplies into the cabinets. She casually leaned up against the barn door with her arms crossed. Oblivious to her audience, Chloe began humming a familiar song then started softly singing.

_I'm talking loud not saying much  
I'm criticized but all your bullets ricochet  
You shoot me down, but I get up  
I'm bulletproof nothing to lose_

Beca decided to join in harmonizing.

_Fire away, fire away_

Chloe spun around with a huge smile spread across her face and sang a bit more.

_Ricochet, you take your aim  
Fire away, fire away_

“Beca! What are you doing here?” Chloe squealed and launched herself towards her friend, hitting her full force with a tremendous hug.

“Easter egg hunting?” Beca hugged Chloe back and started to bury her face into Chloe’s neck before pulling back sharply. “Gawd, Chloe. You reek!” The brunette backed off and covered her nose and mouth. “Nasty!”

“What do you expect? I was doing rectal exams on cows to check for pregnancies.”

Beca looked aghast. “What? You had your hand up… up a cow’s…?”

“Nope.” Chloe shook her head. “Arm. I had my arm up a cow’s ass.” She grinned as she mimicked pulling a glove onto her arm and reaching up into a cow.

“You are disgusting.”

* * *

The ringtone of Chloe’s phone jolted both the women awake. “Noooooo, don’t answer it, Chloe.”

“I have to, babe. I’m on-call this weekend.” The redhead reached over and answered her phone. “Beale… yeah… Okay, on my way.”

“Noooooo, Chloe.” Beca wrapped her arms around Chloe’s naked body. “I won’t let you go.” She started kissing the redhead’s back. “Stay.”

Chloe pried Beca’s hands from her and squirmed free. “I have to. The game wardens raided a carnival and seized a lot of baby farm animals. I need to take care of them. Wanna go with me?”

“Ugh,” Beca moaned and pulled herself out of bed. “I guess so.”

* * *

When they arrived at the farm, the wardens were waiting with several crates. “The carnival was using the chicks as prizes in one of the games. The ducks and rabbits were being sold to parents as Easter presents for their kids.”

Chloe peeked into the crate of chicks. “Oh, my goodness.” She was surprised to see chicks of all colors – purple, blue, bright pink, green, vibrant yellow – everything imaginable. “They dyed the baby chicks.” Chloe looked sad.

“Isn’t it just food coloring? It’ll fade, babe.” Beca rubbed small circles on Chloe’s back, who was almost in tears. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you know how they dye the chicks, Beca? The dye is injected _into_ the shells with the embryos still in them. The hole gets plugged with a bit of wax. Some hatcheries spray dye their chicks, but this coloring is so bright, I bet their shells got injected. Just seems cruel to me.” The officer helped her load the chicks into the coops.

“At least they didn’t dye the ducklings. I think that’s even worse than chickies.”

Once all the animals were safe in new enclosures, one warden explained the process they’d go through for the courts to transfer ownership of the baby farm animals to the university. “Sorry to have you here this late. The only way we could catch them was a nighttime sting operation. Thanks for coming out.”

The officer left Chloe and Beca to finish making sure the baby farm animals had everything they need. “Chloe, these babies are adorable.” The vet student turned to find Beca holding one of the baby rabbits with her face buried in its fur. “I want one of each. They’re so tiny, perfect apartment size.”

“Beca!”

“What? They are precious!” She had moved on to the ducks and were petting their little heads as they waddled around the enclosure.

“They. Are. Farm. Animals.”

“So?” She was only teasing, but she knew it’d get Chloe riled up.

“For one, they are livestock. Secondly, ducks and chickens both carry salmonella. Third, they also require indoor and outdoor housing. AND baby bunnies are snuggly, but adult bunnies despise being held.”

Beca could tell that the redhead was getting worked up. “Hey, Chloe,” she called out. Chloe looked at her. “I’m kidding, babe.”

“Ass. Make yourself useful and hook up that heat lamp.”

* * *

By the time the women got finished settling the babies into their temporary housing, the sun was peeking over the horizon. Chloe still had to write out a care list for each of the groups of animals. They had adult chickens, ducks, and rabbits, but the littles required special attention. Beca borrowed Chloe’s car to get breakfast.

“Mmmm, fresh coffee.” Chloe took a sip of the caffeine Beca delivered. “Much better than the cheap brew we have here.” Beca pulled out the bacon, egg, and cheese croissants she’d picked up along with an assortment of donuts she’d gotten for all the vet students who were working with the farm animals.

While Beca was getting breakfast, Chloe finished what she needed to do and posted the lists with the baby chicks, ducklings, and bunnies. “Luckily, I don’t have to work this weekend. I’m only on-call for emergencies like last night.”

Back at Chloe’s apartment, both women stripped, fell into bed, and quickly fell asleep for a mid-morning nap.

* * *

Beca set her alarm on low volume for Easter morning. The day before, she’d made another stop the day before while she was getting breakfast. After retrieving the bag she had hidden in the trunk, Beca started quietly assembling Chloe’s Easter basket with all Chloe’s favorites. Once she finished, she crept back into bed and wrapped herself around the redhead.

The movement of the mattress caused Chloe to stir. Beca sprinkled kisses on the redhead’s bare shoulder. Chloe mewed and stretched her arms above her head as she turned over. Beca caught her lips in a solid smooch. “Morning gorgeous.”

“Mmmm, hi.” Chloe wrapped her hands around Beca, pulling their bodies together. Beca shifted on top of Chloe and started kissing her throat and neck as she made her way down to Chloe’s breasts. “Ahhhh, I’ll give you two hours to stop that.” After a bit of making out, Beca pulled away and insisted they get up.

“Come on, Chloe. Let’s go see if the real Easter bunny brought anything.” Beca crawled out of bed and tugged on Chloe’s hand, convincing her to get out of bed. Once they were both semi-dressed, they went to the kitchen.

“Oh my goodness! Beca! What did you do?” She raced over to the basket and examined everything in there. “Ohh, speckled robin eggs malted milk balls and Peeps! OMG, you got Peeps! Yay! Did you know roasting peeps over a campfire make them taste like crème brulee?”

“You aren’t serious, Chlo. Wait. You are serious. Nerd. Did you notice? Chick peeps and bunny peeps!”

“Now who’s the nerd? Chocolate bunnies, Reese’s peanut butter eggs. Beca, there’s so much candy here. And the basket is gorgeous. Thank you so much.”

Beca pushed over the wrapped box that Chloe had missed. “One more thing.”

“Oooh, I love presents.” The redhead ripped the paper off the box and lifted the lid. “Squeee, beanie babies! Oh, I love them.” Chloe was giggling as she pulled out a pair of stuffed Easter chicks, two baby ducks, and two tiny bunnies.”

“One set for you, and one set for me. Now, who said we couldn’t have baby farm animals for Easter!”


	5. Aubrey Gets Married or Fake Dating

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe needs a date for Aubrey’s wedding. The Bellas think they are together anyway, so the redhead convinces Beca to go with her as her date.

“A wedding, Chloe? Seriously?”

“Yes, Beca. I’m serious. It’s Aubrey. She’s marrying Jesse, and I’m her maid of honor. Plus, she’s my best friend next to you.”

Beca rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t mean I need to go to the wedding.”

“I need a plus one, Becs. Please be my date! The Bellas all know we are hooking up anyway. Us dating isn’t a stretch.”

“But we _aren’t_ dating,” Beca whined. She cringed as she said that knowing how much she wished that weren’t true. “They’ll see right through us, especially Aubrey. No, Chloe. I don’t want to be your fake plus one.” Beca’s protests were weak, but she had to put up some sort of a fight so Chloe would feel like she’d won when she gave in.

Chloe stuck out her lip and frowned at the camera. “I’m going to hang up on you, Beca Mitchell. I’m hanging up.” She made a show of poising her finger over the disconnect button. “I’m hanging up. Bye. BYE.”

“Wait, wait,” Beca laughed. “Okay, I’ll be your date for Aubrey’s wedding. It’s gonna cost you, though.” Beca wriggled her eyebrows.

Chloe’s squealed accompanied her claps. “Anything.”

“Sex for starters. Lots of it. I mean, you really need to rock my world. But the relationship part, just remember, none of it’s real. It’s all fake.”

“Done!” Chloe was quick to agree to Beca’s rules, although the part about the fake dating kind of stung. She and Beca had been friends with benefits for quite some time. Sometimes she wished they could be more than that. But over two thousand miles separated them. Chloe wasn’t finished with school yet, and Beca was well established at the recording studio in Los Angeles. Getting involved in a relationship simply wasn’t feasible. Wrong place, wrong time. But she’d take fake dating over no dating.

* * *

On the weekend of the wedding, Chloe picked Beca up at the Atlanta airport. “The bachelorette party just started. Knowing Fat Amy, it will switch into high gear soon enough, so we need to hurry.”

Beca pushed Chloe against the column in the airport and hungrily pressed her lips against the other woman’s. She slid her hands roughly up Chloe’s hips and grabbed the material of Chloe’s jeans before slipping her hands up Chloe’s shirt. Beca broke the kiss and moved over to suck Chloe’s earlobe into her mouth. “Don’t forget your promise.” She slipped down to Chloe’s neck and lightly nipped her skin.

“No way I could forget,” Chloe panted. “Damn, Becs, I want you.”

Beca looked around. “There’s a restroom right over there. Come on.” She grabbed her bag and began to drag Chloe towards the restroom.

“No, Becs,” Chloe giggled. “We need to get to the bachelorette party.”

“Fuck.” Beca looked deflated.

“Later, I promise,” Chloe smirked.

* * *

The women pulled into the parking lot of _Hardbodies – A Male Revue_. “A male strip club? Seriously, Chloe? This is going to do nothing for my mood.”

Chloe leaned over and kissed Beca’s cheek. “I promise to make it worth your while. Come on; the girls are waiting.”

No sooner did they get through the door, did they hear a loud voice coming towards them. “Beca! You’re here! I always knew it.” Fat Amy turned to the group of Bellas sitting around a large table. “Pay up, ladies,” Fat Amy shouted. “I told you they were together. Bhloe!”

Beca screwed her eyes together with a questionable look.

Fat Amy looked at her. “You know. Beca. Chloe. Together, you’re Bhloe. Everyone loves a good Bhloe.”

Beca rolled her eyes and greeted all the other Bellas. “Hey, guys.” When she got to Aubrey, she braced herself for a hug. “Congratulations, Aubrey. I’m extremely happy for you. You are going to rock married life.”

The blonde looked at her, smiled, then pointed at Chloe. “Treat that one good, Beca. Don’t break her heart.” Guilt flooded through Beca. The Bellas honestly thought she and Chloe were dating.

After the male strip club, the Bellas visited a few other places. They caught Ubers to the downtown area and did a pub crawl around to a lot of the college bars. They caught up with each other’s lives and had a great time in general.

Finally, the night was over, and everyone headed back to the hotel in which they were all staying. Chloe had already checked in, and since Beca was her “date,” they had arranged to share a room. No sooner did Chloe close and double lock the hotel room door, she found herself slammed against the door. Beca wasn’t wasting any time in working Chloe into a dither. Chloe jumped up and wrapped her legs around Beca’s waist. For such a tiny girl, the brunette was solid and strong.

The women fell on the bed, and Chloe started giggling. “What?” Beca asked as she pushed up and stripped off her shirt and bra, then pulled Chloe up to take off her shirt.

“Isn’t this how all this started? Us getting shit-faced drunk with the girls, screwing in my bedroom at the Bella house, and ending up naked in bed together.”

“I think all that matters is that we ended up naked in bed together. Now shut up and fuck me.”

* * *

Chloe had to get up early the next morning to perform her duties as maid of honor. By the time she’d showered and collected her dress, shoes, and makeup, Beca was actually awake. “I promise, Chloe.”

“You won’t go back to sleep? You’ll take a shower and come up to the bridal suite?”

“Yes, Chloe. Besides, breakfast is up there, right?” She kissed Chloe and gently pushed her out the door.

Her shower was longer than usual as she let the hot water run over her back muscles, relaxing her. The hotel towels were the huge, fluffy kind. So she used one to dry off her body and then wrapped another around her hair. As she sat on the bed, thoughts of Chloe floated through her mind. She and the veterinarian student had sex before – lots of times.

Beca had been keeping her emotions shoved down, trying to convince herself that the situation with them was truly just sex. Sex between friends. Nothing more. But Beca knew she was lying to herself, and she wanted more. She wanted Chloe. Beca just didn’t know what Chloe wanted.

* * *

When Aubrey was fully decked out in her dress, the Bellas crowded around her to do her hair and makeup. Beca had found her a comfortable spot on a couch in the bridal suite and sipped on champagne as she watched Chloe fuss over Aubrey. She had to admit that Aubrey was stunning and looked very, very happy. Chloe settled the veil on Aubrey’s head and announced the masterpiece was complete.

“You could be next.” The voice in Beca’s ear startled her then Stacie plopped down next to her. “I see how Chloe looks at you.”

Beca almost choked on her champagne. “Naw, I don’t think so, Stacie. We aren’t quite there yet.”

Soon all the women who weren’t in the wedding party went to the venue to claim their seats. The Bellas all sat together, of course. Except for Chloe, who was the maid of honor. Aubrey hadn’t wanted a huge wedding, so the wedding party was small. Despite the size, Beca was impressed with how nice everything looked.

The ceremony was beautiful, very well planned. Beca couldn’t keep her eyes off of a glowing Chloe. Despite not being an emotional person, Beca found herself getting weepy when Jesse and Aubrey exchanged vows. They definitely were meant to be together. She dabbed her eyes and glanced over to Chloe, who was looking at her. The redhead gave her a small smile then focused back on the wedding couple.

* * *

“The ceremony was nice.”

“Nice?” Chloe giggled. “I saw you crying, Beca Mitchell. I’d say that means the ceremony was more than nice.”

“I wasn’t crying; I’m badass.” Beca pulled Chloe into her before kissing her again. “Seriously, I was weepy because you looked amazing standing up there.”

“I’m glad you decided to be my date, Beca. Thanks.”

“Fake date, Chloe. Fake date.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course, I didn't want Aubrey marrying him. But it had to be so Stacie could be in the bridal suite.


	6. Delta Flight 1701 or Hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca gets involved in a plane crash and is put into a medically induced coma. Do coma patients really hear what is said to them when they are under? Will Beca wake up? If so, will she remember anything Chloe says?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The tags have been updated to include trigger warnings. Read at your own risk.

Chloe watched as Beca made her way through airport security. Once the brunette got her shoes back on and gathered her things, she turned to give Chloe a final wave goodbye before turning to ride up the escalator to the terminals and gates. Once Chloe was out of sight, Beca hopped on the ATL People Mover that transported her to the correct terminal.

Beca stopped at the monitors to double-check her gate assignment then headed that direction. Out of habit, she went into one of the stores along the way. Before she realized what she was doing, her arms were full of chips and candy. When she remembered Chloe had packed her a goody bag for the flight, she put the store snacks back on the shelves and grabbed a few bottles of water.

As she settled into a seat in the gate area, Beca excitedly dug into her carry-on for her goody bag to see what Chloe had packed. She decided on a baggie of trail mix that she was sure to polish off before boarding even started. She held the half-empty bag next to her face and took a silly selfie and texted the picture to Chloe.

_[To Chloe: Trail Mix, my favorite]_

Beca munched her way through the trail mix right as boarding started. To get a bit more space, she’d purchased a Comfort+ seat. While the seat assignment came with extra legroom Beca obviously didn’t need, she somehow felt she had a larger space bubble. Plus, she was seated towards the front of the plane, which meant she was one of the first off the plane. After pulling out her headphones, she stowed her carryon bag and took a seat.

Her mind floated back to the bachelorette party, wedding, and, most importantly, Chloe. The redhead was stunning in her maid of honor dress standing with the wedding party. The wedding was supposed to be about the bride, but for Beca, the wedding was all about Chloe. The more she and Chloe continued their friends with benefits relationship, the deeper her feelings for the redhead grew.

Beca felt guilty for continually reiterating that she was _just acting_ like she and Chloe were dating. She felt like ‘fake dating’ had been her mantra the entire time she was in Atlanta for Aubrey’s wedding. Perhaps she was in denial, but not knowing how Chloe felt about her made it difficult to admit anything different.

After considerable thought, Beca decided that she needed to quit lying to herself and denying her feelings for her best friend. If she could, she’d turn the plane around and rush to Chloe. Of course, she knew opening up to Chloe meant opening herself for rejection. Beca knew the reward was worth the risk.

* * *

When Chloe woke up, she quickly sat up, wondering why she was on the couch rather than in her bed. Her phone clattered to the floor before she could catch it. She yawned and stretched out the kinks in her back as she picked up her phone. A quick press of her side button let her know it was after 3:30 in the morning. Her lock screen also revealed no missed calls or messages from Beca. Beca’s plane was supposed to have landed at 8:00 pm local, which was 11:00 pm in Athens.

“Hmmm,” Chloe thought to herself. She was slightly perturbed since Beca didn’t call or text to let her know she made it home safely. The brunette didn’t like bothering Chloe so late at night, but the redhead insisted she wanted to know that Beca was safe. After unlocking her phone, Chloe called Beca not caring that it was after midnight in California. She wouldn’t rest well unless she knew Beca was home. Of course, she was, Chloe just needed to hear it.

When Beca’s phone went straight to voicemail, Chloe’s irritation grew. Beca must have listened to music the entire trip and not charged her phone when she got back to the apartment. The redhead disconnected and sent Beca a text message.

_[To Beca: Forget to charge your phone again?]  
[To Beca: Call me when you get this. XOXO]_

Chloe went ahead and got ready for bed. She figured she’d sleep better in her room than on the couch.

* * *

Chloe’s phone alarm woke her up, letting her know she needed to shower and eat breakfast before heading to her study session. All her veterinarian classes were complete. The only thing she lacked was taking and passing a rigorous seven-hour licensing examination offered by the state of Georgia.

She’d thought about looking into moving to California after getting licensed in Georgia. That would require an additional test, but if she was going to clue Beca in on her true feelings for her friend, she knew she’d have to be at least in the same state before moving out of the friends with benefits mindset and into something a little more serious. She didn’t know precisely how Beca felt about her, but she was willing to take a chance.

A check of her phone let her know that Beca still hadn’t contacted her. Keeping her irritation in check, Chloe flipped on the morning news and jumped in the shower. As she was toweling dry, the newscaster caught her attention. _Yesterday, Delta Flight 1701 from Atlanta to Los Angeles crashed on landing approach around 7:45 pm Pacific time. At least three fatalities have been reported and multiple persons hospitalized, some with critical injuries._

Chloe could hear her heart pounding in her ears as she began to sweat. She tried to control her anxiety, convincing herself that wasn’t Beca’s flight. That _couldn’t_ have been Beca’s flight. Her hands were trembling as she grabbed her phone and retrieved Beca’s flight information. _Delta Flight 1701._ Beca. Beca’s plane had crashed.

She fumbled the DVR remote and rewound the news to the beginning of the segment. Her knees were weak as she sank onto her bed and watched. _Yesterday, Delta Flight 1701 from Atlanta to Los Angeles crashed on landing approach around 7:45 pm Pacific time. At least three fatalities have been reported and multiple persons hospitalized, some with critical injuries. Delta Airlines has set up a hotline for friends and family of passengers. Please call the hotline with any questions you have about your loved ones._ Chloe paused the news and scrambled for paper and pen to copy down the phone number.

Chloe turned off the television and dialed the hotline number. The first five times, she got a busy signal. Frustrated, Chloe dialed on more time, and with luck, the line began to ring. A prerecorded message came on, letting her know she had reached the Delta Crisis Line, but all operators were busy with other callers. “Please be patient. Calls will be answered in the order received.”

Chloe put her phone on speaker and began to pack a bag. After thirty minutes on hold, the redhead’s frustration level was at a peak. She took her phone with her to her laptop and checked news websites to see if she could find any other information about the crash. She was about to give up on the hotline and hang up when a voice came across the phone.

“Delta Airlines Crisis Line. My name is Gladys. How may I help you?”

Chloe immediately began to blubber as she tried to get the words out. “I’m so sorry, ma’am. I’m ummmm calling about Flight 1701. My friend was on that flight, and I haven’t heard from her.”

“What’s your name, dear?” Gladys’ voice was soothing.

“Chloe. Chloe Beale.”

“Okay, Chloe. What’s your friend’s name?”

“Mitchell. Beca Mitchell.” All the possibilities were running through Chloe’s mind.

Chloe could hear keyboard keys clacking on the other end of the phone while Gladys typed. “I see your friend’s name on the manifest. She was on the flight.”

“Is she alive? Oh god. Did she make it?” The question came out of Chloe’s mouth before she realized maybe she wasn’t ready to hear the answer.

“Due to the short length of time since the incident, our information is limited. However, I can tell you that information about fatalities can only be released to verifiable next of kin. I’m here to give you options and let you know what steps you can take. Do you mind if I collect some information from you?”

“What kind of information?” Chloe’s voice was shaky, and her hands were quivering so severely she could barely hold her phone.

“About your friend. The process is more simple as information starts to come in about the status of the passengers.”

“Okay.”

Gladys verified Chloe’s name and got her phone number and address, along with Beca’s phone number and address. “Do you know her employer’s information, hon?” Chloe gave Gladys the information from Residual Heat in L.A. “What about next of kin?”

“She’s estranged from her father and has no other family. I’m her best friend, though. I suppose her father would legally be considered Beca’s next of kin.”

After letting Chloe know what steps Delta Airlines was taking for passengers who were on the flight, Gladys arranged for a flight for Chloe to Los Angeles. “Will you need a hotel?”

“I don’t even know if Beca is alive or where she is. Ummmm, sure, I’ll take a hotel.”

The moment Chloe got off the phone with the hotline and finished packing, she ordered an Uber to the airport. She didn’t know what she’d find in Los Angeles and didn’t want to leave her car in long term parking for an extended period.

* * *

After she checked in and passed security, she messaged her study partners and let them know the situation. She assured them she had her materials with her, although Chloe knew she wouldn’t be able to concentrate until she found out that Beca was okay. Chloe then messaged Aubrey to let her know. She didn’t want to call because she knew she’d lose it in the airport and cause a scene.

_[To Chloe: Do you want me to meet you in Los Angeles?]  
[To Aubrey: Why don’t you stay in Atlanta until I know more?]  
[To Chloe: Just know I’m here for you.]  
[To Chloe: And Beca. Love you.]_

As much as Chloe needed the support, she knew Aubrey couldn’t be of much help until the situation was more apparent.

* * *

When Chloe landed at LAX and powered on her phone, a few messages and a voice mail came through. She hurriedly checked them to see if one happened to be from Beca. Chloe knew that wouldn’t be the case but couldn’t help getting her hopes up.

She’d received a text message from the Crisis Hotline with her hotel information as well as instructions to keep all receipts for transportation and food. A link sent her to a website with more details. The hotel was designated as the Delta command center, and all information would be distributed from that central location.

Chloe caught a taxi to the hotel and checked her voice mail on the way. The voicemail was from Aubrey, making sure she’d arrived safely. Chloe still didn’t trust her voice with her other best friend, so texted Aubrey that she had safely landed. Chloe also forwarded the information where she’d be staying.

Upon check-in, Chloe received her key packet and a handout with directions to the meeting rooms on the second floor of the hotel for additional registration. After dropping off her bags in her room, she went to the command center to see what information she could find on her best friend. She gave Beca’s name then let them know who she was. The name combination was somehow a match, and a woman came over with a manilla packet and took her to a private room.

When the woman explained that she was a grief counselor, Chloe started crying again. “She’s dead. Oh my god. She’s gone, and I never even told her how I felt about her.” The redhead was to the point of wailing.

The counselor rushed to Chloe’s side and squatted next to her chair, rubbing on her back. “No, no, Chloe. Your friend’s not dead.” Chloe snuffled and looked up hopefully. The counselor pulled out some documents from the envelope. “Beca was severely injured and life-flighted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Many of the critically injured are there, which is why this hotel is the command center. You can walk to the hotel in less than five minutes, or we have shuttles that run every half hour.”

“Beca’s alive?” Chloe couldn’t believe what she was hearing as she’d spent the entire flight preparing herself for the worse. “Beca’s alive, and she’s close? I can see her?”

The counselor nodded. “She’s in the ICU. The doctors have put her in a medically induced coma. I don’t have more information than that. But your name is on the approved visitors' list. You can see her when you are ready.” She let Chloe know of the visiting hours and gave her the packet.

“There’s a map in here along with some other information. There’s catering set up across from the main meeting room. Food and non-alcoholic beverages are available 24-7. If you choose to eat elsewhere, keep your receipts for reimbursement up to $50 daily. We also have a physician assistant on-site if you feel you need some sedatives or something for anxiety.”

Now that Chloe knew that Beca was at least alive, she relaxed a bit and wasn’t so panicky. After checking the time, she knew if she left right then, she’d get to the hospital right when ICU visiting hours started. Not wanting to wait on the shuttle, she took off on foot towards the hospital, calling Aubrey as she walked.

“She’s alive, Aubrey! I’m on her way to see her right now.” Chloe couldn’t hold in her excitement. “I don’t have much information yet, but she’s alive.” The redhead explained what she learned from the grief counselor. “I’m at the hospital, Aubrey. I’ll call when I know more.”

* * *

Chloe looked at Beca, lying in the hospital bed. She was covered head to toe with bandages. A cast was on one of Beca’s arms and a halo on her leg. She had several IVs and other monitoring wires sticking from everywhere. Her swollen face was almost twice its normal size. Had Chloe not known that Beca was under all the mess, she might not have known who she was. Then again, this **was** Beca. And Beca was alive.

Chloe gingerly walked up to her friend, afraid to touch her, but found a patch of bare skin on one hand that didn’t seem to be bruised or cut up. “Beca? It’s Chloe. I’m here, baby. Oh, god, I’m so happy to see you. I thought I had lost you forever.”

The nurses had told her that studies showed that coma patients could often hear people talking to them and sense their emotions, so she tried not to get upset. “They say they are letting you sleep so you can heal, Becs. You get better soon. Oh, Beca, I have so much to tell you.” Chloe rambled on. If Beca could hear her, she wanted Beca to know she was there.

Visiting hours were over far too soon, and Chloe had to leave. Before going, she was able to get an update from the doctor. Her friend had suffered a broken arm, and her tibia and fibula were both crushed. Also broken were her collar bone and multiple ribs. “As you can see, she had severe head trauma, which is why we placed her in a coma. To give the swelling in her brain a chance to go down.”

Beca already had two surgeries and would probably be facing several more as time progressed once she woke up. “I’m glad you’re here, though. Studies show that patients heal faster when they have a loved one with them.”

* * *

After Chloe made it back to the hotel, she called Aubrey to give her an update on Beca as promised. She then called Residual Heat and asked to speak to Theo, Beca’s friend and supervisor. When he picked up, he immediately asked if she’d heard from Beca. Beca hadn’t shown up to work, and he was concerned about her. “I can’t get in touch with her. That’s so unlike her.”

When Chloe told him Beca had been on the plane that crashed at LAX, he went silent. She assured him she was alive but explained her medical condition. He was so quiet, Chloe thought the phone had gotten disconnected. “Theo?”

She heard him sniffing. “Ummm yeah, okay. Thanks for letting me know. I had no idea. Do you think they’ll let me see her?”

Chloe told him if he’d come to where she was staying, she’d take him to the crisis counselor she’d talked to and see about adding him to Beca’s visitor list. The airline was coordinating everything to do with injured passengers to ensure the correct flow of information. Theo told her he’d meet her early in the morning so they could get him on the list before the first set of visiting hours.

* * *

Days turned into weeks, and Chloe was by Beca’s side as much time as she could be. Beca had been moved to a regular room so Chloe could stay with her longer each day. Finally, Beca’s doctor let Chloe know they were going to try to bring Beca out of her coma. “The rest of her body is healing nicely; now we need to check her brain.”

“When will she wake up,” Chloe asked.

“When she’s ready.”

Chloe sat with Beca as much as possible. Theo arranged for Chloe to get keys to Beca’s apartment so she could check out of the hotel. He’d come by and stay with Beca so Chloe could go shower and eat a non-hospital provided meal.

Chloe talked a lot to Beca. She told her about how big Ruger was getting and that the baby Easter animals were growing like weeds. Sometimes she read novels to Beca while other times she read medical books. “If you’d wake up, Beca Mitchell, you wouldn’t have to listen to these dull, dry veterinary science texts.

The longer Beca went without waking up, the more scared Chloe got. She refused to believe Beca wasn’t going to come out of her coma.

“Beca? I need you to open your eyes, baby. I have so much to tell you. Beca? I love you. I love you more than a friend, Beca. You have to wake up, Beca. I’m sorry I never told you how I feel. I should have told you a long time ago. Like at college. Beca Mitchell. Wake up, please.” Chloe gently grasped Beca’s hand and squeezed.

Chloe knew she was at the bargaining stage. “Beca, if you wake up, I promise a day will never go by without you knowing exactly how I feel. I love you. I’m in love with you.” The redhead put her face down to Beca’s uninjured hand, tears dripping on the brunette’s skin.

Suddenly she felt a bit of pressure on her fingers, startling her. She grasped Beca’s hand with both of hers. “Beca?” She felt another light squeeze. Chloe began to laugh quietly. “Come back to me, Beca. It’s time to wake up now.” She watched as the woman in the hospital bed opened her eyes. Then as quickly as they opened, they fluttered shut.

A scratchy sound came from Beca’s lips. “Water.” The nurses had engrained in Chloe’s mind that if Beca were to awaken, she could only have one or two ice chips for her thirst.

“Becs. Are you awake?” She held an ice chip to Beca’s mouth.

Beca slowly smacked her lips, absorbing the limited moisture. “Chloe?”

“Yes, baby. I’m here. I’m here. Please wake up.”

Finally, after a few more ice chips, Beca managed to squeak out with her scratchy voice, “if I wake up, will you promise to quit reading me those damned vet books?”


	7. The Ugly Green-Eyed Monster or Jealousy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Chloe sees Beca getting chummy with another woman, the green-eyed monster rears his ugly head.

Beca did not return to her apartment for several months as she remained hospitalized to go through additional surgeries then, from here, went directly to rehab. Her room in rehab was nicer than the hospital room, set up more like a hotel. Chloe even had her own bed (read fold-up cot) despite Beca making her leave every so often to get out of the center.

“Don’t you have some studying to do,” she teased. Since Beca had been out of the woods, Chloe had been furiously studying for her examination. While Chloe knew that Beca could hear some of the things she’d said while she was in a coma, she wasn’t sure how much Beca remembered. Chloe was terrified to bring up her true feelings for her friends. If the discussion went poorly, she didn’t want to be the cause of a set-back.

One evening, after Beca showered, she was relaxed in her bed. Chloe came up and gently snuggled into the oversized twin bed next to her. “I’ve missed you, you know?”

“You’ve seen me every day since Aubrey’s bachelorette party, Chlo.”

“Ummmm, you seem to forget you were asleep for almost six weeks, Beca. Seriously, I wasn’t sure if you’d ever wake up. So yes, I missed you.” Chloe snuggled in closer.

“Thanks for being here, Chlo. It means a lot to me. When are you going back to Georgia to take your board exams?”

“I need to talk to you about that. What would you think of me taking my exams here in California?”

Beca looked confused. “But then you couldn’t practice in Georgia.” Chloe didn’t respond. Finally, Beca said, “oh.”

After taking a deep breath, Chloe decided to lay it on the line. “I talked to you non-stop when you were in a coma, Beca. Tell me what you remember.”

“I know you read those boring vet books to me. Waking up was worth stopping that torture alone,” Beca teased.

Chloe playfully slapped Beca’s chest. “I hate you.”

After grabbing Chloe’s hand, Beca said, “no, you don’t. You love me. You’re in love with me. You said that much.” Beca paused. “And yes, I remember.” Chloe froze, not knowing what was coming next. “And I’m in love with you. I think I always have been.”

“I thought I’d lost you, Beca. I don’t want another day to go by without having the chance to show you want you mean to me. And being over two thousand miles away just won’t work for me. I’m not saying I have to move in or anything. But I want to be here. With you.”

Beca squeezed her arm around Chloe’s shoulder and reached down to kiss the top of her head. “Don’t be silly, Chlo. It’s not like we haven’t lived together before. Remember, Barden?”

So finally the two women admitted what they'd known all along and agreed that Chloe would move in as soon as possible.

* * *

By the time Beca was ready to be released from rehab, Chloe had taken her exams for licensure in California and gone back to Athens. She packed up everything in her small apartment, then made the long cross-country drive to Los Angeles along with Aubrey.

When Beca finally returned home, Chloe had moved in completely. Beca went back to work part-time at the studio. She tired quickly but going back was the only way to build her stamina.

Chloe secured a vet tech position at an animal clinic with the understanding that when her license was granted, she’d be hired on as a full-time vet. True to her word, Chloe never let a day go by without making sure Beca knew she was loved and how grateful Chloe was to be in her life.

“Why did it take us so long to get here?” Beca was stretched out with Chloe lying next to her.

“The stars weren’t lined up, I guess. Doesn’t matter though. We’re here now.”

The couple could never decide on an anniversary date or even how long they’d been together. Beca wanted to claim the day of the airline crash, but Chloe nixed that as being far too morbid. Finally, for nostalgia's sake, they decided on the day they graduated from college—a momentous occasion which represented a crossroads in their lives as they started their paths into adulthood.

* * *

One afternoon, Chloe took off work early to surprise Beca at work. Sometimes when she felt Beca was working too hard, she’d show up and whisk her girlfriend away. If Beca pushed too much, she could backslide from the progress she’d made during her recovery.

Chloe lovingly called them Beca-Breaks. The couple would find something fun to do or go out to eat a new place. The redhead had put herself personally in charge of making sure Beca continued to recover, mentally and emotionally as well as physically.

The redhead parked a block away from the studio because the lot was cheaper. As she walked closer, she looked both ways before crossing the street to the studio entrance. Something caught her eye at the sidewalk café next to the studio.

Beca was at one of the outside tables with a tall woman with rust-colored hair. The hue was different than her own, yet it was unique enough to catch Chloe’s eye. She watched as the two chatted as if they were quite familiar with each other. Beca leaned forward and casually brushed the woman’s arm with her hand. A pit opened up in Chloe’s stomach as she watched her girlfriend flirt with another woman. Was she angry? Upset? Jealous?

The pair across the street stood up, and Beca grabbed her cane that she still used in case she got unsteady. The taller woman kissed both of Beca’s cheeks then held out her elbow for the producer to hook her arm through the crook. There were two steps down to the sidewalk. Beca let the taller woman help her down the stairs.

Now, green crept up Chloe’s neck since Beca always insisted she didn’t need help when they went places. The brunette navigated steps and opened doors on her own. Yet this woman just waltzed right in and cozied up to _her_ girlfriend and did everything for her.

They walked into the studio. A few minutes later, the stranger left. Chloe couldn’t decide if she should go in or not. Frankly, she was upset by seeing Beca with another woman and decided that to go see Beca would be a bad idea. So she headed home, picking up a bottle of her favorite wine on the way, instead of taking her girlfriend on a Beca-Break.

* * *

“Chlo? Chloe? Are you home?” Beca closed and locked their apartment door. She found a silent Chloe on the couch with a half-empty bottle of wine. “Are you okay? I called the clinic, and they said you took the day off.”

“Mmmm huh. Yup.” Chloe nodded and took another sip of wine.

“Oh.” Chloe’s odd behavior confused Beca. Her girlfriend obviously wasn’t in the mood to talk. “Okay, do you want me to cook or order out?”

“Whatever.”

Since Chloe wasn’t forthcoming with a conversation, Beca decided to make a simple dinner. She heated some soup and made grilled cheese sandwiches. It may not have sounded like much but was one of their go-to meals at the Bellas’ house. She decided not to try to get Chloe to talk; let her work out whatever was wrong on her own.

That night in bed, Chloe was on the far edge with her back turned to Beca. The producer scooted up behind her girlfriend. “Chlo, I love you.”

After releasing a huge sigh, Chloe spoke. “I saw you today.” This statement confused Beca. “Who is she?”

Realization finally hit the brunette. Chloe must have seen her and Jess at the café. She knew Chloe was riled up, so she chose not to answer and snuggled up to Chloe. The redhead stuck out her butt, keeping Beca from getting close.

“No!” She flipped over to face Beca. “I came to the studio to take you on a Beca-Break. You’ve been slipping into longer days, and you know you can’t do that. I’m trying to be considerate of your health and catch you with another woman.” She sniffled as she fought tears. “Are you seeing her?” Asking the question almost broke Chloe’s heart. She hadn’t wanted to admit to the possibility, yet she’d blurted out the question, and waited for the answer.

“Oh, Chloe. No!” Beca wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and pulled her in tight. She decided to come clean about who Jess was, kind of. “Jess is one of my new artists. We were talking about her new album.”

“At a coffee shop?” Chloe was cautious, wanting to believe Beca but not entirely committing to her belief.

Beca kissed Chloe’s forehead. “You are right, Chlo. I’ve been working a lot. I guess I needed the fresh air, and that place is right next door to the studio.”

“But, she kissed you.”

Beca chuckled. “On the cheeks! She’s British. I think they kiss everyone.” The explanation sounded plausible enough to push the green monster from Chloe’s brain. For now.

* * *

The next day, Chloe began to feel bad about accusing Beca of seeing another woman. In her heart, she knew she was the only one for Beca. Maybe Chloe was wary of losing Beca since she’d almost lost her in the plane crash. Chloe decided on a special Beca-Break the following day as an apology to her girlfriend. She called an area deli and ordered a picnic lunch for the next morning. The couple could go to Santa Monica Beach. While the water was freezing in that area, they could at least enjoy the salty air and ocean breeze.

After picking up lunch the following day, Chloe stowed the picnic basket in her trunk and went to surprise Beca. As she walked towards the studio, she was nearly skipping. When she went to cross the street, she stopped. Sitting at the outdoor café were Beca and her new artist, Jess, was it? Chloe’s heart was pounding. Beca’s earlier explanation was feasible, but now… now Chloe questioned if Beca had been honest with her.

She watched the two interact a few moments and was about ready to barge in on the private party when another woman walked up. This woman had a dark-complexion and was as beautiful as the artist. The new artist greeted Beca by kissing her cheeks then shared a more intimate kiss with Jess. As she took a seat next to the artist, she pulled out a book and pushed it over to Beca.

After watching a while, Chloe realized the new woman was probably Jess’s partner. She saw nothing more untoward between the artist and Beca and decided to approach her girlfriend. “Beca! Hi, baby.” Despite her jealousy being quelled some, Chloe claimed her territory with an intimate kiss. She was so involved in her show of dominance that she didn’t notice Beca closing the book and sliding it across the table.

“Chloe! What a surprise. Ladies, this is my girlfriend, Chloe.” Beca then introduced her girlfriend, who had helped herself to the other open chair at the table. “To what do I own the pleasure, love?” Beca’s nerves were starting to show as she honestly didn’t know why Chloe had shown up.

“Why a Beca-Break, of course.” Chloe explained to the other women that when Beca was spending too much time at work, she’d come to rescue the producer and make her relax. “She’s had a rough year. I’d like to think it helps.”

“I’m sort of in the middle of a meeting, Chlo.” No sooner had the words left her mouth, the smile disappeared off Chloe’s face. She stammered as she tried to back-pedaled out of this. “Jess, would you mind rescheduling? I know it’d mean a lot to Chloe and me.”

Chloe brightened up somewhat as Beca scheduled different meeting time with her artist. As the couple got up to leave, Chloe chirped, “nice to meet you!”

Never did she consider what the meetings had genuinely been about.


	8. Half-Truths and Secret Plans or Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beca keeps all sorts of secrets from her girlfriend with a little help from their friends.

Eventually, Beca had her meeting with Jess and her girlfriend. The trio laughed at how close Beca had come to being busted. “She suits you, Beca. I like her.” Jess ribbed the producer a bit longer before they got started on the next track.

“Oh,” Macy said. “I’ll have a few preliminary designs drawn up for you next week. I think Chloe showing up out of the blue gave me a little more insight into her personality.”

The producer and artist worked diligently for the next week or two to get multiple tracks laid down before Jess and Macy returned to England. “I know she’s doing work for you here, but Macy needs to get back to the rest of her business.” Luckily Macy managed to kick out three designs that she was satisfied enough to show Beca before Jess finished her recording.

“I favor this one.” Beca slid one of the renderings forward. “They are all amazing, but this is my favorite. She’s going to love it.” She and Macy discussed additional details and decided the product could be completed by the time Jess came back for final adjustments for her album.

“Jess knows she could work in a studio at home; I just think she likes coming to the states.”

“I could come there, you know. Residual Heat has a studio branch we could work at.”

Macy said she didn’t want to ruin Jess’s fun. “I’ll have her swear to protect it with her life. Thanks again for trusting me with your business.”

* * *

Beca laid a full schedule laid out for Jess’s album. The singer would need to be back in the states in about six weeks. Beca made a call to Aubrey. She had an idea about what she wanted to do but needed Aubrey to help plan things, especially if she wanted to keep Chloe in the dark about the full truth. She didn’t particularly like telling Chloe partial truths but knew Aubrey could easily pull everything off.

A few days later, Chloe rushed into their apartment. “Beca! What does your schedule look like on the weekend of May 14th?” Excitement exuded from her pores as she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet.

Beca made a show of pulling up her calendar on her phone. “Hmmm, well, I was thinking about asking my girlfriend on a fancy date.” Chloe cocked her head sideways and looked at Beca. “That weekend is the sixth anniversary of our unofficial start of dating. Graduation day and all.” Chloe immediately deflated.

“Oh.”

“Why?”

“Nothing. Aubrey wanted to have a Bellas reunion. I guess she picked that weekend because most of us graduated around then – all but her and Legacy. I’ll see if she can plan it another weekend.”

“No, babe.” Beca was almost feeling guilty. “It’s okay. I would love to see the girls; I haven’t seen anyone but Aubrey since the accident. I can ask you out for another weekend.”

“Are you sure?” Chloe’s smile was beginning to broaden. She, too, was looking forward to seeing the Bellas.

* * *

Aubrey reserved a block of rooms at a hotel near the Hollywood Walk of Fame and asked for everyone to make their reservations. Beca made reservations for them as well so they could be close to the Bellas. Once the girls made airline arrangements, Aubrey asked them to send her the itineraries. For one, coordinating transportation would be more simple. And two, well, she wanted to know what flights everyone was on – for obvious reasons.

The closer the reunion weekend got, the more excited Chloe was. She’d convinced Aubrey not to plan any silly bonding activities since they were all well into adulting now. Getting to see everyone and spend time together was important. Plus, Beca’s stamina wasn’t always up to snuff, and she didn’t want her girlfriend to feel bad if she had to go rest in the room.

A week before the reunion weekend, Jess flew back over the pond to put the final touches on her album. Before they could even get started, Beca held out her hand. “You know I won’t be able to concentrate until I see it.”

Jess handed her a simple ring box. “Depending on how you are going to pull this off, we can go get some fancy paper and wrap it all up. I have a feeling you aren’t a traditional type of person.” She opened the box for Beca to pull out the ring.

The producer gasped. “Jess, this is amazing, even more stunning than the rendition Macy created on paper. This engagement ring is a showpiece, just as Macy promised.” The platinum band sported a mounting that hugged a 2.25 carat round, brilliant-cut diamond. Beca and Chloe hadn’t talked about marriage, but Beca knew they both were ready to take the next step.

The producer spent a lot of time on the phone with Aubrey talking through things and making sure what Beca ended up going with was Aubrey-approved. “She’s going to adore this, Jess. I’m so glad you found your way to my studio since your woman is a jewelry designer and all. You know Chloe saw us that first day at the café. I think she thought I was cheating on her. Talk about jealous! Anyway, please tell Macy thank you for me.” Beca handed Jess an envelope. “This should be enough to cover the balance.”

“She would have been happy to design the ring for free and only charge you cost for the materials, you know.”

Beca insisted Jess take the payment, especially since the ring had turned out perfectly.

* * *

After Beca and Chloe checked into the hotel, Beca took a catnap to build up some energy for the evening. “Please don’t let Fat Amy force any drinks on me.”

“If she does, I’ll call her Patricia. That should shut her up,” Chloe giggled.

After most everyone arrived, Aubrey sent out a group message that people were meeting in the bar area. When the couple made it downstairs, they found Aubrey had arranged for a small space to be cordoned off and pre-ordered some appetizers. “You can order off the menu, too, if you want. I thought it might be nice to have a separate space.

“You are the best at organizing, Aubrey. Thanks for doing this.” Beca felt awkward since she knew how much organization Aubrey had really done, and this was the tip of the iceberg.

As the Bellas trickled in, they spent the evening visiting and catching up with each other. Nobody was crass enough to ask Beca about her visible scars or her plane crash experience. Aubrey had asked the others to let Beca share details that she wanted as things were still a bit real for her. Because Beca still depended on a cane for stability, she parked herself in a booth and let people come to her.

Seeing everyone was comforting for Beca. In a way, the Bellas also felt relief since they were able to see their friend with their own two eyes and assure themselves that she was still alive. And since Beca and Chloe had attended Aubrey’s wedding as a couple, the pair didn’t have to share their ‘new relationship’ status.

On Saturday evening, reservations for the entire group at Nightshade, a restaurant that had opened the previous year. The chef-owner had won Top Chef competition cooking show on Bravo and was making a name for herself. The eclectic menu had a selection for everyone, and each dish was excellent. As the group waited on dessert, someone walked up to the table.

Beca stood up and exchanged kisses with Jess. “Jess! What a coincidence. Bellas, this is one of my new artists, Jess. Jess, the Bellas.”

The singer turned her attention to Chloe. “Chloe, Beca told me that when you first saw us by the studio that you thought she was cheating on you. I wanted to offer my apologies.” She presented a uniquely wrapped box to Chloe. “From myself and Macy. Enjoy the rest of your evening.” She then excused herself, leaving Chloe confused.

The redhead leaned down to put the present under her chair. “Open it. Chloe! Let’s see what it is.” The Bellas were clamoring for their former co-captain to find what the gift was. Of course, Aubrey had this all planned out in advance. Chloe undid the ribbon from around the box and pulled off the lid. Inside was a smaller wrapped box that she gently pulled the paper off. And then, nestled in tissue paper was a traditional black velvet right box. Chloe didn’t move.

Beca had scooted her chair close to Chloe’s. “Chloe, you are my anchor, my one true love. The universe has been pushing us together since the day we set eyes on each other, and we were fools not to catch on early.” She grabbed Chloe’s hand and retrieved the ring box that Chloe had yet to open.

“Pardon if I don’t get on a knee, babe. I might not make it back up.” She laughed as she wiped away a stray tear. “Chloe Beale, you promised me you’d show me how you felt about me every day for the rest of our lives. Does that mean you’ll do me the honor of marrying me?”

Chloe had already started nodding as tears flooded down her face. She held out her hand and let Beca slip the ring on her finger before holding Beca’s face in her hands and kissing her. Once she remembered they weren’t alone, she looked around the table at their friends. The Bellas had somehow managed to stay quiet through Beca’s entire speech. Chloe raised her hand in the air and shouted, “look Pitches. I’m engaged!” The Bellas who were already crying started clapping and calling out their congratulations to the newly engaged couple.

When the excitement had died down some, Aubrey addressed her friend. “This isn’t just a Bella reunion weekend, Chloe. This is also an engagement announcement party weekend!”

* * *

And the Bellas did just that – they had a weekend reconnecting, rejoicing in Beca’s life, and celebrating the engagement of the two Bellas. Since the couple had never talked about marriage before, the proposal caught Chloe completely off-guard, especially since Beca had arranged everything without her finding out. Beca came clean about Jess’s girlfriend being a jewelry designer, thus the reason for the meetings and why Jess had been the one to deliver the ring to dinner.

Before the weekend was over, Chloe had made up her mind that she wanted to get married in almost exactly one year. “I know we don’t have a designated anniversary, but I kinda like the idea of this becoming our real anniversary. She let the Bellas all know to Save the Date as she promised to send out official cards once she had secured a venue.

Beca gave Chloe carte blanch on planning the wedding. And Aubrey, too, of course. One of the first things Chloe did was ask her to be her Maid of Honor. As she watched Chloe flit around the rest of the weekend, she knew she had made the right choice in asking Chloe to be in her life forever. Yes, they had already agreed they weren’t letting each other out of sight again, but this made it real.

* * *

_One Year Later_

Chloe and Beca faced each other in front of a preacher surround by friends and family. “And by the power vested in me by the State of California, I now pronounce you Dr. and Mrs. Beale-Mitchell. You may now kiss your bride.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has stayed on this journey with me. I hope you have enjoyed reading my version of Bechloe Week as much as I've enjoyed writing it.


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